About this project

Should the campaign meet its funding goal I will happily send the five people listed on the updates page a copy of Tutta Roma signed by Martin Parr (in addition to the regular rewards they have qualified for).  The goal is still pretty far out there so please help spread the word. With only one week to go before the timer goes off it's crunch time. Thank you all.

I want nothing more than for everybody to take home a reward at the end of this campaign and to fully fund the film but if we do not meet our goal that can't happen.  With Kickstarter it is all or nothing.  If the goal is not met no funds are distributed.  Please help spread the word about this film. 

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"From a totally different planet" (Henri Cartier-Bresson on Martin Parr)

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Martin Parr's Take On The South

My 30 minute documentary short, Hot Spots: Martin Parr in the American South, will provide a fun, entertaining and unique perspective on the career and creative process that drives the controversial Magnum photographer.  The humor, the irony and the biting social commentary that make a Martin Parr photograph a Martin Parr photograph are all on display as we watch him take the shots for this rare American museum commission.  The characters he meets along the way add to the roller coaster ride and road trip attitude and the perspective offered by an insightful group of photographers and curators adds to the fun.  A corn dog will never look the same again.

Kickstarter Funding?

The funds that I hope to raise for the film will provide needed support in the crucial post-production phase. The film has largely been shot (Martin's visits, interviews and most Atlanta exteriors) and preliminary editing has begun. The Kickstarter money will go towards scoring, graphics, color grading, DVD creation, and some of the technical requirements for delivery for broadcast such as multiple language translations and subtitling, closed-captioning. I have put together a group dedicated to photography to help roll out the film. F-Stop Films brings together the Italian publishing company Contrasto and Atlanta's Fall Line Press to distribute the film. 

Who Will See The Film?

This film is a unique case study of how an artist at the top of his game creates, what motivates him and how he balances the demands of objectivity with the need for expression.  Parr has established himself as one of the leading photographers of the past 30 years and his work and influence will be studied for years to come.  But Martin Parr is also a teacher, a curator, a collector and his lectures and seminars to young artists are valuable lessons in how to find one's voice while understanding there are harsh realities to face when trying to make a living as a professional photographer in the 21st century.  

It is my hope that this documentary will be an accurate, objective guidepost for this and future generations of young photographers interested in studying the profession in which they have chosen to work.  I would like the film to find a venue, in the short term, in film festivals and broadcast (in the US and overseas).  And, back in Atlanta, Georgia Public Broadcasting will air the piece in early June. 

It is my longterm goal that it will find a place in the classroom and that those who study late 20th and early 21st century photography will find it to be a point of illumination. 

Martin Parr

Martin Parr has, to say the least, a loyal following around the world.  Whether it is in Europe, Asia, Australia or Africa, Parr is revered for the irony, social commentary and humor embedded in his photography.  This past summer in Paris people stood in line for hours to have him take their photo and sign a book.  There is even a song about him by a French folk singer.  His work is seen in galleries and museums around the world and is held in many of the important photography collections.  This commission is a first for Parr...his first by a leading art museum in the United States, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.  

Parr visited Atlanta twice, once in October, 2010 and again in April, 2011.  I was there filming every step of the way.  Parr brought his iconic style to everything from the Silver Skillet diner to CNN Center.

The film looks at Parr’s creative process, his style, career and his impact on modern photography.  During the sumer of 2011 I filmed a series of interviews with a select group of people, each in a unique positions to discuss Martin Parr's photography.  Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas, photographer John Gossage, Chief Curator at the deYoung Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco Julian Cox, former front New York Times photo editor and critic Philip Gefter and High Museum of Art Curator of Photography Brett Abbott all sat down to be filmed for this documentary.  And, of course, we interviewed Martin to add to the material we gathered in the field.  

Full of humor, insight and amazing photography, Hot Spots: Martin Parr in the American South, with your gracious help, will open a window onto the world of this quirky and fascinating artist.

See Rome through Martin Parr's lens in this 2007 book, part of the $150 pledge level.

Limited Edition Prints

We are offering two Martin Parr prints prepared in his studio in London and shipped directly to you.  Each signed print is 20"x30" and you get to choose from Martin's upcoming book Up and Down Peachtree: Photographs of Atlanta which image you would like to have.  They are numbered 1 from an edition of 10.  Below are three from the set but there are many many more and you will be able to work with Martin's staff to choose the right one for you.  

Learn More

Martin has a great Web site where you can learn more about him. Here is the link, www.martinparr.com. The Magnum Web site is home to Martin's images, click here to see them.